‘FEELS LIKE HOME’
Meyerland Jewish community center announces $50 million renovation.
After Hurricane Harvey, Joel Dinkin, chief executive of the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, decided it was time to plan for the facility’s future. Much of the campus had been flooded and there was an opportunity for renovation and expansion.
Those plans came closer to reality last week when officials of the Meyerland community center, commonly referred to as “the J,” unveiled a $50 million project that will usher the existing community center into the 21st century, creating a state-of-the-art facility.
The expansion and renovation will include a new 126,000square-foot building and 27,000 square feet of renovations to the existing center. The new threestory building has been designed by Gensler; renovations to the existing structure will include a family-centric aquatics complex, a new culinary studio and a dedicated fitness area among other additions and improvements. The project is set to break ground in September. Tellepsen is the contractor.
One of the goals of the renovation project is to mitigate against future flood damage, so the new construction will be elevated and on-site detention will be expanded. Flood gates were also installed to protect the lower level of the J, Dinkin said.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, which unanimously voted to continue its presence on the campus, will occupy a portion of the new building.
As of last month, more than 80 families had contributed more than $36 million to the construction campaign.
“A building is really an ends to a mean,” Dinkin said. “The building will be able to serve the neighborhood community as well as a broad range of the city of Houston for decades to come.”
The planned improvements to the facility, at 5601 S. Braeswood, would help the 50-year-old building better serve the community in a wide variety of social, recreational and cultural educational programs and activities, he said.
“We are thrilled to share with the community our plans to reinvest in our existing campus and renew our commitment to the Meyerland area,” Lauren Kaufman Blachman, president of the center’s board, said in a release. “The enthusiasm from our donors and supporters of our capital campaign to date has been overwhelming, and thanks to their generosity and commitment to the J, we can now share that our renovation plans are becoming a reality.”
Amy Bernstein, a real estate broker at Bernstein Realty, said the J is part of the fabric of Meyerland and draws people to the community, along with soughtafter public schools such as Bellaire High.
“It’s a very important part of the community and a real gathering spot for many,” she said.
The face of the southwest Houston neighborhood near Brays Bayou changed after more than 900 houses were flooded in Hurricane Harvey alone. Floods in 2015 and 2016 had also inundated the community, and in the wake of repeated flooding, some owners sold flooded homes for lot value. Others tore down and rebuilt on the same lot or elevated and remodeled their homes.
Now, said Bernstein, the market is stabilizing and drainage improvements along the bayou have contributed to an increase in comfort with the neighborhood.
“With the widening of the bayou, I think a lot of people are deciding that the neighborhood feels best to them,” Bernstein said. “It feels like home.”
Homes in Meyerland sell from the high $400,000s to more than $1 million, Bernstein said. Lot prices start in the high $200,000s and go up, depending on the size and location. Lot prices are up from a starting point in the mid-$200,000s after Harvey.
“Now, we’re seeing a lot less supply of homes than the demand on the market,” Bernstein said.